Monday, December 26, 2011

Michael Smith found himself in his usual spot--in the thick of the action--when he shot this amazing jam session of Roosevelt Sykes, B.B. King, Bukka White, George Porter Jr. and Professor Longhair at the 1973 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest.

This profile of New Orleans
cultural historian and photographer Michael P. Smith was originally published
in 2004 in Beat
Street, a New Orleans
literary magazine now out of print. By that time, Smith had slipped into semi-retirement by
then as he began to succumb to the effects of Parkinson’s and possibly Alzheimer’s
diseases.

Smith passed in 2008 and left behind a legacy that represents
one of the CrescentCity’s
most magnificent treasures. Smith’s prints, negatives and other archival
material was acquired by the Historic New Orleans Collection in 2007 where it
is being preserved for future generations. His photographs also are in the
permanent collections of the Bibliotheque National in Paris,
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution and, the New
Orleans Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the LouisianaStateMuseum.

By Karl Bremer

New Orleans
photographer David Richmond calls Michael P. Smith “the last true great
undiscovered photojournalist of the 20th century,” and places him in
the pantheon of such giants as W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange and Henri
Cartier-Bresson.

Jeff Rosenheim, a former assistant of Smith’s in the early
‘80s who is now associate curator of photography for the Metropolitan Museum of
Art in New York, asserts
unequivocally that “Mike Smith’s life’s work should be preserved in perpetuity
in New Orleans for the study of the
culture of New Orleans in the last
third of the 20th century.”

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest Producer Quint Davis
calls Smith “one of the great documenters and great depicters of a unique
aspect of American culture. Mike is not just documenting, he’s creating great
art.”

But it’s the words of Larry Bannock, Big Chief of the Golden
Star Hunters, that would be most likely to bring a smile to Smith’s face.

“Mike Smith wasn’t a cultural pirate,” Bannock says. “He
gave back.”

Bannock’s speaking of Smith in the past tense reflects the
bittersweet fact that Smith hasn’t been a fixture out on the street for the
past couple of years, capturing the pulse and spirit of New
Orleans’ mesmerizing subcultures of Mardi Gras Indian
practices, social and pleasure clubs, second-line parades and spiritual
churches. His battle with Parkinson’s and possibly Alzheimer’s diseases has
kept him from pursuing the mission that at once has been Smith’s vocation and
avocation in life: to preserve on film the living, breathing, organic, cultural
wetlands known as New Orleans.

“There’s a popular misconception around town that Mike is,
like, gone,” says New Orleans
photographer Bob Compton. “But that couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s
still light in those blue eyes.”

While the subject of Michael Smith’s physical and mental
health has been of concern to many in recent months, the health and
preservation of his legacy—and his monumental archives—has become of paramount
importance as well.

“The value of this life that Michael has led is enormous,
and it would be a shame to let it slip through New Orleans’
hands like so many other things,” declares Rosenheim.

Rosenheim was 22
years old when he moved to New Orleans
in 1983 and went to work for the LouisianaStateMuseum.
Smith’s first book, Spirit World, a captivating look at spiritual
churches, Mardi Gras Indians and other aspects of African-American New Orleans
culture, had just been published, and planning for a related exhibition of his
work was underway.

“I had the pleasure of being involved in his exhibition at
the LouisianaStateMuseum,” recalls Rosenheim.
“I had a lot of experience working with archives of both living and deceased
photographers. And I could recognize that Michael was not just a local
photographer, but a local photographer who was connected to some of the best
aspects of New Orleans culture.
Michael not only had a remarkable commitment to his subjects but he seemed to
be blessed with being at the right place at the right time. … He did some very
innovative things, and he just ‘had it.’”

Rosenheim worked
in the darkroom with Smith to put together two duplicate sets of prints from
the exhibition for a traveling U.S. Information Agency show. “One would travel
to the Caribbean—the Black Caribbean—and the other would
go to Africa. It traveled for years and years. I used to
get photographs from people who saw this exhibit all over the world.”

The cross-cultural appeal of the exhibit was remarkable,
says Rosenheim. “Music culture is
an international language and so is photography, and they both come together
perfectly in Michael Smith.”

“He used to wire himself with sophisticated stereo equipment
and record these parades and funerals.” Listening to those recordings as he
worked in the darkroom with Smith’s powerful images “was like a kinetic
experience.” The sounds of Smith working his way through the drum section of a
jazz funeral, then the horns, shifting this way and that as he finessed his
position for the maximum vantage point provide an aural context for these
images that should be preserved as well, says Rosenheim.

Smith’s body of work reaches deep into New
Orleans’ subcultures. But he is probably best known
for his images from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest. Smith is the only
living photographer to have shot every Jazz Fest (until his last in 2004), according to Fest producer
Quint Davis.

Jazz Fest recognized Smith in 2004 with a showing in
the Grandstand of his images printed in large format by David Richmond, and
50-60 of his images reproduced, mounted on boards and placed around the
fairgrounds as close as possible to where they were originally shot. His work
also is being exclusively featured in this year’s Jazz Fest program.

“We’re going to celebrate our 35th anniversary
through the eyes of Mike Smith,” says Davis.
“The whole infield is going to be a Mike Smith kaleidoscope of the festival.”

Since the beginning, Smith has been “Jazz Fest’s unofficial
official photographer,” says Davis.
“When you start to do a heritage festival that has New
Orleans street culture in it, Mike comes along
with it. Because in addition to being an artist and a photographer, he’s an
intrinsic part of the culture himself. When we started doing this festival, he
was part of New Orleans street
culture. Then he became part of the festival culture. He was also unbelievably
steadfast. He came every day, every year and went to every stage. Multiply that
times 35 years.”

But Davis is
quick to note, “Jazz Fest is really just a spoke in the wheel of Mike Smith’s
work. We’re maybe a big spoke … Having created this great body of artistic
work, he also has brought the images and the awareness of the culture to a lot
of people. His photography of those things is a window to the world, and he
helped to both popularize and legitimize those cultures.”

Larry Bannock: 'Mike Smith wasn't

a cultural pirate. He gave back.'

Says Larry Bannock: “He gave something to the people that a
lot of guys don’t. Mike was one of the first whites to see one of these suits
put together. Mike was there when you be sewing, and for years when I was
making my Indian suits, Mike would give me books. Whenever Mike would go
traveling and there was a book on Native American culture, he brought it back
and said ‘Maybe you can use this.’

“A lot of times when I was doing patches, Mike would go out
and take pictures of landscapes and color to make it come out right. There’re
not a lot of photographers you could ask that of.”

Smith recognized the value of preserving the Mardi Gras
Indian culture and he encouraged Bannock: “Don’t just do the beadwork. Know the
culture, know the history, know why the blacks ran away and how the Native
Americans helped them.” He also urged Bannock to become registered as a “master
craftsman in black Mardi Gras Indian beadwork” with Louisiana Folklife.

“One of the people that made me a Big Chief was Mike
Smith,” says Bannock. “When I first became a Chief, I was going through a
problem, and I was talking to Mike about it.

And he said, ‘When you become a Chief, you become the center
of attention. People say things about you—negative things. That’s all part of
being a Chief.’ And the first thing he said was, ‘Buy your own equipment.’
Everything I needed to make a suit, Mike said that’s what I need. When you got
your own, nobody can come at you.

“Mike isn’t a 9-to-5 friend. He’s a 24-hour friend,” Bannock
continues. “Whenever you called him, he was there. There’s a lot of people
that’s on the street today because of Mike. Carpenters, contractors, when
things were slow, Mike would help them get jobs. He wasn’t just a little white
boy who came along and took all the pictures and made all the money. … When the
testimony is given, they can say Mike gave back—he didn’t take away.”

Becoming a part of the culture he was documenting had its
down sides, too, says Bannock. “Mike and Jules Kahn were taking pictures of
second lines when it wasn’t popular. Mike Smith was run out of places, Mike
Smith was harassed, the same thing we went through. But when Mike Smith went
Uptown, he was protected, and a lot of people knew what he was about.”

David Richmond first knew Michael Smith in 1969, when he
took Smith’s place as an assistant to local Black Star syndicate photographer
Matt Heron. He ran into him periodically in the mid-70s, although they were
never close friends.

“I had a little gallery in New Orleans
in the 70s and that was the first real gallery showing of Mike’s work—the Spirit
World stuff. But Mike didn’t hang out with that gallery group. He never
spent any time being a dilettante photographer.He was hanging out with people closer to the culture—Jerry Brock, Jason
Berry, Jeff Hannusch.

“I really lost track of Mike for about 15 years,” Richmond
continues. “Two years ago I started this exhibit space and went over to Mike’s
place and said this can’t happen. There was nobody to really champion his work,
and he certainly wasn’t going to do it anymore.”

Richmond
selected about 30 images for an exhibit. “I started printing them bigger, and
cleaner. And I just realized that I’d fallen in love with the images. His best
pictures—they’re alive, they’re not two-dimensional. You don’t look at the
pictures—they come out and knock you out, especially when you’re giving birth
to something like that in the darkroom.”

And, Richmond
observes, “I’ve come to the conclusion, in looking at the proof sheets of his
stuff and working with the images, that Mike didn’t just take pictures, he
received pictures. He just went out there and wrestled away until some
spiritual force said ‘You’re gonna receive this one.’”

The LouisianaStateMuseum raised the bar for
recognition of Smith’s work last year when it purchased 75 archival-quality
prints for its collection. “These pictures are going to be the museum’s basis
of the representation of African-American culture in New
Orleans,” says Richmond.

Rosenheim says
Smith’s entire collection—photography, recordings, notes—should find a
permanent and appropriate home in New Orleans,
perhaps the New Orleans Museum of Art or the LouisianaStateMuseum.
“It should be there, in the city that created him and in the city that created
the music and culture. I would urge any one of the museum directors in the city
to preserve this archive in all its complexity and richness.”

The archiving of Smith’s work “is an ongoing process,” says
Bob Compton. “The phrase ‘treasure trove’ does not do it justice. There must be
100,000 images in that Race Street
building. It physically fills up five great big rooms in an old hotel-size
house.”

Meanwhile, Smith races against time to finish In the Spirit, which his daughter, Leslie, describes as “an exploration of
freedom rituals in New Orleans,”
from jazz funerals to the underground gay Mardi Gras.

“He’s driven. He’s afraid of not remembering, so he writes
and doesn’t sleep, but he’s got so much writing to do, and it’s a vicious
cycle.”

Bannock hopes the recognition that’s due Smith happens soon.

“There’s an old saying in the black church,” he muses. “Give
me my flowers while I’m alive.”

A second line parade was held at the Jazz Fest Fairgrounds in 2009 to commemorate Michael Smith and human jukebox guitarist Snooks Eaglin, who passed earlier that year.

In the interim, Smith races against time to complete In the Spirit, which his girl, Leslie, depicts as "an investigation of flexibility customs in New Orleans," from jazz funerals to the underground gay Mardi Gras.Dissertation Proposal Writing

"Testing" in the modeling industry is a term with a few meanings. It can be used to describe a photo session where a model uses pictures obtained by a photographer for their own promotion in their portfolio or composite card.learn more here

Hi Guys! This is me: Archana kumari and I'm once more present with the latest information in connection with your deep interest in call girls. As always I've brought new team of teenager call girls ready to satiate your hunger of female companionship. Just click the links for guidance.

Ripple in Stillwater

Ripple in Stillwater is the sole creation of Stillwater, Minnesota, writer Karl Bremer. It covers whatever captures the author's muse at the moment. You can reach Ripple in Stillwater at saintcroix-at-aol-dot-com, or you can follow me on Twitter @kdbremer. If you're wondering about the name of this blog, go here.

Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists 2011 Page One Award Winner

Ripple in Stillwater author Karl Bremer won Second Place in the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists 2011 Page One Awards for "Best Use of Public Records."

Followers

THE PERFECT GIFT FOR YOUR RIGHT-WING FRIENDS AND RELATIVES!

The Madness of Michele Bachmann is now available! Ask your friendly bookstore to order it now, or order yours by clicking on the image above.

OLD BAYOU BLUES BY CAMILE BAUDOIN

Living room music from legendary Radiators guitarist Camile Baudoin, featuring violinist Harry Hardin and guitarist David Doucet (Beausoleil). Available through Louisiana Music Factory, iTunes, and Amazon. Or click on the image above, order direct and get a FREE download @ camilebaudoin.com

BLUE GUITAR HIGHWAY by PAUL METSA

The reelin' and rockin' autobiography of one of Minnesota's most brilliant songwriters. Click on the book cover above to order.

THE BUTANES featuring Willie Walker: LONG TIME THING

The latest release from Twin Cities r&b stalwarts The Butanes, featuring the soulful voice of New Orleans' Willie Walker. Click on image to order yours!